Rapper Grandmaster Flash and TI were the big winners at last night's (12NOV06) first ever BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta, Georgia - sharing the limelight and the biggest prizes.
Atlanta-based TI was nominated for eight awards and took home three; Best Hip Hop Video, Best CD and MVP Of The Year.
After stepping onstage TI said, "You can't hate on hard work and talent. This awards show will show people a lot about where I come from."
Grandmaster Flash, meanwhile, was presented with the I Am Hip-Hop Icon award, after which the disc-spinner paid tribute to all DJs, telling the crowd, "To get an award for my technological ability means a whole lot more than anything else I've accomplished in my life."
The show - which will be aired in the US on 15 November (06) - was kicked off with a performance of 2001 hit WELCOME TO ATLANTA, performed by Ludacris, YOUNG JEEZY, LIL' JON and Atlanta native Jermaine Dupri, who said afterwards, "For the awards to be in my city and I win something for producing, it's exciting. The outcome was something I could never imagine."